As some background on this one, I will state that my mother-in-law’s (that’s “Ruth” to you) favorite flower is the lilac. This is undeniably the case, evidenced by how she walked down the aisle with her husband some 70 years ago holding a bunch of these fragrant beauties.
Fast forward countless decades, and Ruth brought to my wife and me a lilac bush some years back to plant in our yard after we bought our home, and joked that we’d “always remember” her when we see it. We fondly refer to it as “Ruth’s bush,” which, depending on how immature your sense of humor is, might make you giggle. Before you judge, I’ve got a story about an 88-year-old Ruth making a joke about the product Black Betty (“For the Hair Down There”) that had us laughing to the point of tears which I may share later. The lesson? You’re never too old or mature to work blue, or be silly.
Well ANYway, it’s huge now (Ruth’s bush), and it’s that time of year, and the thing is going absolutely nuts with brilliant blossoms.
I grabbed a few blossoms today before the crazy and angry New Jersey rain came in out of nowhere and pummeled the darned thing.
And then I took a few shots. I’m thinking of framing this one and presenting it to the old gal, so she knows we appreciate her kind gesture, and she knows we love these wonderful gifts that grace our yard every spring.
The little I know about flower photography still far exceeds what I know about flower arrangements, I found out quickly, as I stared endlessly and mindlessly, and poked and man-handled these surprisingly delicate matrices of bee food. If you know how to arrange flowers, by all means please reach out to me and give a guy some help.
I should add that the pot in this photo is most likely Ruth’s, and is probably older than me. Yet another nice gift from a thoughtful woman.
Tom DePaul Photography Blog 